After smashing a ship, Xia Qiu swam into the distance, circled around, and then accelerated towards the intact sea ship.
His strength was immense now; even a ship capable of withstanding the storms of the Grand Line would be rendered irreparable with one hit and sink with two.
But just as Xia Qiu was about to reach the sea ship...
Zing, zing, zing, zing.
Several sounds rang out as crossbow bolts shot from the ship's hull.
Thwack, thwack.
Two bolts plunged into the ocean nearby, while two others struck Xia Qiu's body. One hit him squarely on the forehead, and the other grazed his side, narrowly missing him.
The scales on his forehead dented slightly at the point of impact, with fine cracks spreading from the center, but they didn't break. The scales on his side, however, only bore a white mark.
During his fight with the Lionheart Pirates, Xia Qiu had been hit by a fish crossbow, causing his scales to shatter and his muscles to be damaged, leaving deep gashes.
Since then, Xia Qiu had devoured two pirate crews, fifty to sixty billionaires, and several other strong individuals.
Now, after further strengthening, Xia Qiu's scales had an impact resistance and fracture toughness exceeding that of iron, while their hardness surpassed rock. However, their rigidity was still somewhat lacking compared to rock.
Still, the muscles beneath the scales could dissipate force, but not enough to withstand overly concentrated power on a single point of the scales.
This was enough for the scales to hold up after being hit by the crossbow bolts, allowing the force to be dissipated with only minor cracks appearing.
Such an injury had no effect whatsoever on Xia Qiu.
Xia Qiu slammed directly into the sea ship. With a tremendous crash, a large hole appeared in the ship, and seawater began to gush in.
"Throw bombs, throw bombs!"
Bombs were thrown towards the sea, exploding as they neared the water's surface.
Boom, boom, boom.
The bombs detonated violently, the shockwaves transmitting into the water. The water's resistance continuously bounced back the shockwaves, diminishing their force.
The remaining power was insufficient to break through Xia Qiu's scales.
"It's no use."
On another sea ship, Robin stood on the deck, watching the black fish swim away after being attacked by bombs, her expression grim.
It was useless.
Neither the crossbow bolts nor the explosives had much effect.
The fish crossbow, in particular, hadn't even managed to break his skin. That crossbow bolt's impact force was strong enough to pierce the skull of a Sea Beast.
"Unable to defeat him."
Upon seeing his abilities, Robin instantly reached this conclusion. She then walked to the stern of the ship, extending her hands.
Arms appeared around the small boat and the stern, untying the mooring ropes and lowering the boat into the sea.
Swish.
Robin leaped from the stern onto the small boat. At this moment, others who saw Robin's actions, realizing she was trying to escape, wanted to follow. They rushed to the side of the ship, attempting to jump aboard, but one after another, they fell to the ground.
Robin ignored them. She waved her arm again, and a dozen more arms grew out, raising the sail on the central mast and then gripping several oars to begin rowing the small boat.
Under Robin's ability, the small boat sped away into the distance.
"We're very close to Alabasta now."
Robin narrowed her eyes, thinking, "As long as they can hold off that black fish for a while, I can reach the shore."
As she thought this, Robin increased the speed at which her arms rowed the oars, and the small boat's speed suddenly increased.
...
"What is that?"
Xia Qiu circled around, preparing to charge again, but at the same time, he suddenly detected a returning sonar signal.
"Trying to run?"
Xia Qiu noticed a small boat leaving the sea, having already traveled some distance and now positioned behind another ship. If their positions hadn't been offset, his sonar wouldn't have been able to detect it.
How could I let you escape?
At this point, anyone who could seize the opportunity to escape by small boat was generally quite strong; otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to snatch the boat.
He couldn't let Mr. 2 Bon Clay escape again like last time, losing so much energy.
More importantly, Xia Qiu intended for them to be annihilated this time, not a single one left alive.
With this thought, Xia Qiu changed direction and charged towards the small boat.
"Here it comes?"
Robin saw a black shadow faintly appearing in the distance. The massive ramming horn was visible above the water, and its dorsal fin, like a small sail, was rapidly approaching.
"Why would he attack me?"
Robin's heart instantly turned cold. The sea ship hadn't sunk yet, and instead of continuing his attack, he had come to attack her.
Robin tried to speed up, but her physical strength was limited. The arms grown by Hana Hana no Mi were no different from her own.
There was no chance.
Robin watched the black fish getting closer, her heart filled with despair.
"Twenty-Round Flower, Giant Tree."
Seeing the black fish approach the small boat, Robin suddenly waved her arms. The next moment, arms spread out from the stern of the boat, overlapping each other to form a giant arm.
Boom.
The giant arm slammed down on the small boat.
Slap.
The palm struck the ramming horn exposed above the water by Xia Qiu, but it immediately dispersed into petals.
"What the hell?"
Xia Qiu felt a tremendous force that halted his momentum, but he wasn't injured.
Too weak.
Xia Qiu thought. He swung his body again and charged forward, directly ramming the small boat.
"Hana Hana."
The instant Xia Qiu hit the small boat, arms sprouted from the stern and latched onto his head.
Crack, crack.
The sound of bones breaking echoed from the arms. Robin's expression grew increasingly grim, cold sweat beading on her forehead.
But I held on.
Using the bending force of the arms, Robin neutralized Xia Qiu's forward momentum. At the same time, the force of the arms pushing the boat forward moved the small boat a short distance.
He was actually blocked.
Xia Qiu was slightly stunned, then charged again. This time, Xia Qiu used half his strength.
Robin gritted her teeth. This time, long, slender legs grew from the boat, ending in delicate, fair feet.
Slap, slap, slap.
Robin's feet stomped on Xia Qiu's head, trying to resist his attack.
But the next moment, all the legs snapped. Xia Qiu slammed into the boat with his full body.
Boom.
The small boat was smashed to pieces and slowly sank. Robin leaped backward, dodging Xia Qiu's impact, but she fell into the water.
"It's over."
Feeling the weakness in her body, Robin's face was filled with despair. In the water, she had no strength and couldn't even counterattack.
Am I going to die?
Her dream was not yet fulfilled, and she was about to die.
What was even more laughable was that she wasn't dying at the hands of an enemy, but a sea fish.
What bad luck.
Unwillingness flickered in Robin's eyes as her body helplessly began to fall.
"Falling straight down? Can't swim? Devil Fruit user?"
Xia Qiu noticed her falling straight down. He slowly backed away, widening the distance, and opened his nictitating membrane to look at her. His body immediately froze.
A tall figure, long blue-black hair, fair skin, and a pair of red-black eyes that exuded a captivating charm.
She had delicate eyebrows, a high nose bridge, and sensual lips.
Especially her two long legs, clad in boots, with the exposed parts being round and slender.
She wasn't stunningly beautiful, but she possessed a captivating allure.
Robin.
Xia Qiu instantly recognized her identity. According to the timeline, she should have just joined Baroque Works and was their Vice President.
Why is it her?
Xia Qiu's gaze became complex.
Should I eat her?
...
(In the manga, Robin's skin is white. In the first season of the anime, it's tan, but it's changed back to white in the second season. Also, in the original work, Robin's eyes are red-black, while in the anime, they are blue-black. The original description will be used for now.)
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Translation by: randomtranslator.com
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